BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �






                             SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
                          Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D., Chair

          BILL NO:       AB 2315
          AUTHOR:        Monning
          INTRODUCED:    February 24, 2012
          HEARING DATE:  June 27, 2012
          CONSULTANT:    Rubin

           SUBJECT  :  Governor's appointments: Senate confirmation.
           
          SUMMARY  :  Corrects a reference in existing law related to 
          appointments by the Governor subject to Senate confirmation to 
          reflect the transfer of the Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA) 
          from the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) to the 
          California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHSA).

          Existing law:
          1.Lists the patient advocate among the officers appointed by the 
            Governor that are subject to Senate confirmation.

          2.Transfers OPA from the Department of Managed Health Care 
            (DMHC) to the California Health and Human Services Agency 
            (CHSSA), effective July 1, 2012.
          
          This bill:  Corrects a reference to OPA in existing law 
          concerning appointments by the Governor subject to Senate 
          confirmation to reflect its placement in CHHSA.
          
           FISCAL EFFECT  :  This bill is keyed non-fiscal.

           PRIOR VOTES  :  
          Assembly Health:19- 0
          Assembly Floor:70- 0
           
          COMMENTS  :  
           1.Author's statement.  AB 922 (Monning), Chapter 552, Statutes 
            of 2011, transfers the OPA from DMHC to CHHSA effective July 
            1, 2012, and requires existing OPA duties to apply to health 
            insurers regulated by the California Department of Insurance 
            and their insureds (in addition to DMHC-regulated health 
            plans). AB 2315 makes a technical change to the Government 
            Code to reflect the transfer of the OPA to CHHSA.
            
          2.OPA.  OPA was established in July 2000 in conjunction with 
            DMHC to represent the interests of enrollees served by health 
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          AB 2315 | Page 2




            care service plans regulated by DMHC. AB 922 states that the 
            Legislature recognizes that, because of the enactment of the 
            Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010, 
            and the implementation of various provisions by January 1, 
            2014, it is appropriate to transfer OPA and to confer new 
            responsibilities on OPA, including assisting consumers in 
            obtaining health care coverage and obtaining health care 
            through health coverage that is regulated by multiple 
            regulators, both state and federal.

          3.Related Legislation.  AB 1869 (John A. P�rez) would add 
            federal veterans health benefits to the list of public 
            programs that OPA will be required to include, commencing 
            January 1, 2013, in its efforts to provide outreach and 
            education about health care coverage options. AB 1869 is 
            pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

          4.Technical amendments.  In order to avoid chaptering conflicts 
            and to ensure consistency with AB 1470 (Committee on Budget), 
            the budget trailer bill that will establish the Department of 
            State Hospitals, the author has offered the following 
            technical amendments:
             a.   On Page 2, Line 15: strike out "State"
             b.   On Page 2, Line 23: strike out "Mental Health", and 
               insert "State Hospitals"
             c.   On Page 2, Line 24: strike out "Mental Health", and 
               insert "State Hospitals"
          
           SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION  :
          Support:  None received.

          Oppose:   None received.

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